QUICK! should i buy this???

[johneboy]

Just got a what seems to be a great offer for a DELL SERVER

Dell server in a desktop case. Dual Pentium IIIs running at 450MHz with 2

30GB SCSI drives, 512MB of RAM, a 250 MB ZIP drive, 32MB AGP display

adapter, and an internal DAT drive that holds 20GB (40 GB compressed).

now, question is, i currently have a k6-2 500mhz
am i going to see a noticable difference with the dual processors??

[Dodzzz]

I don't think so? it depends on the apps, if it doesn't support multiprocessors then it will be useless (correct me if I'm wrong! 'cos I just heard it that way from some friends of mine)

[crahak]

You probably could get a much more performant machine for the money... Even an athlon XP or P4 will beat this hands down...

Anways, you would see several percent increase in encoding speed, but not so incredibly much.

I'd consider a machine around 2GHz (money deciding which one eventually) with whatever storage you want.

[johneboy]

but i thought tmpgenc could utilize dual processors?
and even so, i could update the chips, dont p3's go up to 1Ghz?

[Gazorgan]

A Celeron 1.7 Ghz would smoke that dell server, particularly when encoding. The disk subsystem is nice, but that's typically settup for fault tolerance. UDMA100 drives are 'faster', especially the 8 MB cache drives.

You can get an Athlon 2000+ for $80 US, and that would be a LOT faster than dual PIII's

[johneboy]

You can get an Athlon 2000+ for $80 US, and that would be a LOT faster than dual PIII's

but i would need a new mobo then
plus HD, and RAM
i think that would bring me up over $300

[johneboy]

well, i bought it.. so i guess i will have to find out what kinda increase i see..
if nothing else, all the storage i will have (140GB+) is worth it

[jgcarp22]

i could update the chips, dont p3's go up to 1Ghz?

Yes they do.

[musher70]

how much?shipping inc?

[johneboy]

Full Specs

Dual P3 450Mhz
512MB RAM
40GB DAT drive
2 30GB SCSI HDs
2GB Jazz Drive
250MB Zip Drive
15" Monitor

$390

and no shipping needed (he works with me )

[jgcarp22]

If you look to upgrade a Dell system, this site is invaluable.

http://www.roberthancock.com/dell/

[Petco]

You got ripoff! Could I sell you something else? TMPGEnc is slow regardless of processor.

[johneboy]

You got ripoff! Could I sell you something else? TMPGEnc is slow regardless of processor.

Sure... if you got a better system, that cost less with shipping, sure

[Treebeard]

you probably could have got a better deal looking on www.pricewatch.com

[johneboy]

you probably could have got a better deal looking on www.pricewatch.com

i go there, everyday.... didnt see anything close

[sterno]

Sounds like a decent price, mainly because of the SCSI and DAT drives. But it would probably be more useful as a server or development machine than as a video machine. Or maybe as a parts box, upgrading those 450s by a significant amount might be a little expensive since they were slot-1.

[johneboy]

upgrading those 450s by a significant amount might be a little expensive since they were slot-1.

hmm, can i upgrade one chip at a time, or must dual cpu systems use the same chip?

[Webster]

but i thought tmpgenc could utilize dual processors?
and even so, i could update the chips, dont p3's go up to 1Ghz?

Just a quick note. From what I was told, unless you use a lot of filters, having a dual CPU does not increase you encoding speed. TMPGenc use one processor to encode and the second one to filter.

[sterno]

can i upgrade one chip at a time, or must dual cpu systems use the same chip?

CPUs must be matched. In theory, they should be the same core speed, same bus speed, same cache size, same model+stepping numbers, etc. (actually, ideal is two CPUs with consecutive serial numbers...). Some places that sell off-lease computer hardware will sell you matched pairs with similar serial numbers.

In practice, it usually works fine as long as they're the same speed and you put the one with the smaller cache or slower bus or whatever as CPU0. The board will usually look at CPU0 to find out what the processors are, so if the less-capable chip is there it'll probably be fine. But the closer they are to matched the better it'll be.

[johneboy]

I don't think so? it depends on the apps, if it doesn't support multiprocessors then it will be useless (correct me if I'm wrong! 'cos I just heard it that way from some friends of mine)

Using TMPGenc, which does utilize dual processors, my encoding time has decreased dramaticly..
It takes less then half the time to encode vcd/svcd/dvd now with TMPGenc.
compared to my 500Mhz k6-2
Cant wait to see how fast MainConcept is now

[Petco]

Purchase DVD2ONE a lot faster.

Mann, you got ripoff!!

[johneboy]

Purchase DVD2ONE a lot faster.

i plan to... oh i plan too

Mann, you got ripoff!!

you have said this before...
let me show you something...
for $395 US i got...

7 Jaz 2GB external SCSI drives
Dell server, with dual P3 450Mhz processors
2 40GB SCSI hard drives
Internal SCSI 40GB DAT drive
15" ViewSonic Monitor

now.. these are for new items, but even @ 50% off , its still a deal
7 Jaz drives - $290 a piece x7 = $2030
2 40GB SCSI drives - $205 a piece x2 = $410
Seagate DAT drive = $289

all prices are from PriceWatch.com

i hardly think i got ripped off.
Furthermore, 8 hours for a DVD conversion with TMPGenc, compared to 125 hours, is more then well worth it to me

[disturbed1]

johneboy,
Gotta go with you on this. Considering the parts, you got a good deal.

Since the MB is dual slot one, you can use cheaper socket 370 cele's in dual mode. Just get 2 socket 370 to slot 1 adapters (~$5). You can get dual 800's for under $100 (50 each).


Just check the MB's bios string to find the manufacture to double check what bus speed and multipliers it supports.

[Executioner]

johneboy,
Gotta go with you on this. Considering the parts, you got a good deal.

Since the MB is dual slot one, you can use cheaper socket 370 cele's in dual mode. Just get 2 socket 370 to slot 1 adapters (~$5). You can get dual 800's for under $100 (50 each).


Just check the MB's bios string to find the manufacture to double check what bus speed and multipliers it supports.

That is only if the mobo supports higher processors. You probably can go up to a 800MHz, but once you hit the 1GHz mark, the P3's are based on the .17 design which means you have to have the correct components on the mobo to support the different voltage. Just check with Dell to see what the mobo can support. I also think you got a good deal as well. Yeah the parts are old, but it works and it's a lot cheaper than shelling out triple for a new 2GHz machine.

I have a dual PIII-550MHz rig running Win2k pro. I use DVD2SVCD for all my conversions to a SVCD, and the typical 2 hour movie takes me about 14-16 hours on my dually. Before the dually, it would take me 20-24 hours.

[The village idiot]

Last time I checked Celeron's DO NOT support the code for dual processor use! No matter what slot, or socket that you have.

[disturbed1]

Last time I checked Celeron's DO NOT support the code for dual processor use! No matter what slot, or socket that you have.

Tom's Hardware has a few pages about it

http://www6.tomshardware.com/cpu/19990510/dualcel-01.html

[jgcarp22]

"The XPS T came with 450MHz to 850MHz PIII. These machines are potentially capable of running any one of up to 4 generations of Intel P6 micro-architecture with 100MHz front side bus. Today, the only effective upgrades direct from Intel are either the 850MHz or 1000MHz slot 1 SECC2 processors. Since Intel has stopped manufacturing these, availability will become increasingly limited."

More can be found here:
http://www.roberthancock.com/dell/etherdude.htm

[Mirror_Image]

That wasn't a bad deal. Even if it didn't come with a motherboard, it still wouldn't have been a bad deal for the other hardware alone.